San Francisco's Biggest Street Food Fair Kicks Off Today

It's got a craft beer garden, skeeball tournaments, bowls of meatballs, and a creme brûlée cart. Do we even need to say anything else?

There's a surefire sign that's summer's well on its way to San Francisco, and it's not daylight savings or the 70 degree weather (though that's nice, too). It's the kicking off of the much-anticipated Off the Grid street food festival—the city's biggest—at Fort Mason today. In it's fifth season (it will run every Friday from now until the end of October), the massive food festival brings crowds of foodies to the beautiful old military base, seeking out amazing local food with a side of music.

Visitors can take their pick among 15 new-to-the-fair vendors and 24 returning favorites. Among the new to taste is the locally-loved An the Go, who'll sling steaming, flavorful Vietnamese garlic noodles and salt-and-pepper soft shell crab (exclusive to Off the Grid) to the hungry. Also on our list of must-try vendors are Red Sauce Meatballs, who'll dole out big Italian sausage and pepper bowls spiced with Calabrian chile and served with charred red onion relish and garlic bread. If you're more of a sweet tooth, get yourself to The Crème Brûlée Cart stat—it's grade-A, caramelized sugar heaven that you can walk around the grounds with. (You can see a list of all the food vendors here).

Aside from dinner, there’s a serious bar scene to boot. Cocktail-makers from The Alembic—one of the city’s favorite hipster bar fixtures—will be shaking up smoked herb margaritas. And the heady Haight-Ashbury pub, Magnolia Brewery, will be slinging drinks in their full-blown craft beer garden, where you can get cozy in one of the heated seating areas should the night get chilly.

Drinks and food aside, the entertainment is worth checking out alone. Live music and DJs are scattered throughout the festival, and for those inclined there is an impressive array of old-school games like skeeball, shuffleboard, and bubble hockey, each offering round robin tournaments. Don’t worry: Off the Grid is open until 11pm this year, in case you're on a winning streak or just can't get enough crème brûlée. We understand. (2 Marina Blvd; 415-345-7500)